National Health Service unable to run new health care services system due to IT problems

2019-01-02

LETA/TBT Staff

RIGA – Due to the IT problems, the National Health Service is unable to run the system of healthcare services that helps to determine the healthcare insurance status of patients.

As reported earlier, if any technical problems occur due to which a person's insurance status is impossible to determine, the cost of any kind of healthcare services received by that person will be covered by the state, regardless of whether the person is or is not insured.

The National Health Service released a statement on December 31 that it has discovered errors in the system, and is working on them.

Should there be any trouble with determining the insurance status of a person, the healthcare institution being visited by the person will have to provide the required healthcare services according to the current procedure, that is, irrespective of whether the person is insured or not.

As reported, as of 2019 patients who want to receive the full basket of government-funded healthcare services will need mandatory health insurance policies.

Starting this year, all healthcare services paid for by the state would be available only to insured residents. These services will be available automatically to all employees who have been making social contributions for at least nine months, as well as residents who are included in any of the 21 social protection systems - pensioners, schoolchildren, students, and others.

In the meantime, all residents - including those who make no social contributions - will have access to the basic set of healthcare services paid for by the state: emergency medical service, visits to family physician, and state-covered medications for persons with mental problems, dependencies, diabetes, and infectious diseases such as HIV, AIDS, tuberculosis and others. Cancer treatment and cardiovascular diagnostics are also included in the basic set of healthcare services paid for by the state.

Residents who do not have state health insurance are required to make a payment of EUR 206.40 to have access to all healthcare services paid for by the state as of January 1 this year.

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